Arsenal have the know-how to finish top 4, insists Arsene Wenger

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Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger is confident that his team can finish in the top 4 one more time.

“Every year we have been under threat until the last game,” Wenger noted in his press conference before the game against Leicester City.

“Every year we’ve managed to do it. We have a good opportunity to show that we have the strength to deal with that pressure and that we have the quality – I’m completely convinced we have the quality.

“We have to deal with our performances. The criticism is always there when you lose a game now. I don’t take it personally. What I take personally is to lose a game.

“We are responsible for what we produce on the pitch and we have to continue to move forward and deal with all the rest. The rest is not to influence us. What is important is that our ambition and the way we want to play has to be the strongest influence.

“It’s a long way to go. It will be tight for everybody and that’s what it is about. It’s about the team with the most consistency and I feel we have shown that we can deal with that kind of pressure in the past. I’m confident we can do it again.”

Arsene Wenger also egged his Arsenal squad to not lose focus in all the games till the end of the season.

“What you focus on is how you can put your team in a position to respond well and quickly, and get on with your job,” Wenger said.

“We have a very important period in front of us, with the Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup. It is important that the team responds very well and very quickly.

“We are going into a period where we play many games and where all our squad will be highly important. [It is important that] every player is focused, determined and ambitious.”

Wenger talked about Leicester and the competition they provide to Arsenal.

“[Leicester] look like a team who plays in the Premier League and fights to survive in the Premier League,” Wenger said. “That means it demands a complete focus from us and that we respond very strongly to our defeat on Saturday.

“We had a very strong run just before Saturday. We just want to continue that and respond very strongly to the disappointment.

“It’s about performance on the day and because the Premier League is tight, the difference between the teams is very small.

“If you look at the table, nobody [near the bottom of the league is] definitely out of the fight, so I think all the teams who are down there and fighting to survive can stay up.”